PRESS RELEASE: Cancer Community Center, 778 Main St., South Portland, ME 04106
 
If You Have Been Through a Cancer Experience, Consider Volunteering to Help Others Who are Affected by Cancer

South Portland, ME, February 1, 2010.  A cancer diagnosis inevitably changes a person’s life. Often one of the first things that someone who has been diagnosed with cancer wants to do is to talk to someone else who has been through a similar experience. Other cancer patients may feel that need for information and support at a later stage, perhaps during or even after their medical treatment. The Maine Buddy Program provides one-to-one emotional support, information and encouragement to people affected by cancer:  patients, their family and friends, and those who have lost someone to cancer.

The Cancer Community Center is looking for cancer survivors and co-survivors (partners, parents, family members, friends and those who have lost a loved one to cancer) who would like to use their own experience to help others. We are offering a Maine Buddy training session on Saturday February 27, 9am-3pm at the Cancer Community Center, 778 Main Street in South Portland. Lunch will be provided. Cancer survivors and co-survivors should be at least six months out of their own cancer experience or loss in order to be trained to be a Maine Buddy.

“The state-wide Maine Buddy Program has been one of the foundational pillars of the Cancer Community Center for over eight years and we have trained over 300 Buddies all over the state” says Jani Darak-Druck, Manager of Volunteer Services at the Cancer Community Center. “Talking with someone who has had the same type of cancer, surgery or treatment can relieve a lot of anxiety. Geography is irrelevant because Buddies mostly connect by phone. I might have a colon cancer survivor in Lewiston talk to someone diagnosed with colon cancer in Fort Kent.  It’s a wonderful way for survivors and co-survivors to make a real difference in someone else’s life and a great way to give back” she adds.

If you would like to become a Maine Buddy or if you need a Buddy contact Jani Darak- Druck at 774-2200 or e-mail .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). The Cancer Community Center provides activities and support services at no charge for adults living with cancer and their families and friends. Visit http://www.CancerCommunityCenter.org for more information about what we do.

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